Board member Mary Scott Hunter, R-Huntsville, said the perception about the number of high-level hires Sentance has made is "inaccurate," and added, "There have been a few hires and changes but they've allowed people to retire, or people have left."

Management positions in the upper ranks of the department, called "at-will" positions, are not a part of the state personnel merit system. As such, they constitute the vast majority of high-salaried positions.

Under Bice, there were 40 at-will positions totaling $5.2 million in salaries, including Bice's $271,000 annual pay.

Under Sentance, there are 37 at-will positions totaling $4.9 million in salaries, including Sentance's $219,000 annual pay.

Three of those positions are occupied on an interim basis, as a hiring freeze was put in place department-wide last April after Chief Education Financial Officer Andy Craig warned Sentance the department could be on a path to financial deterioration unless adjustments were made and also laid out recommendations to remedy it.

Craig's recommendations were all related to personnel and came after a series of meetings in March where board members began voicing their concerns.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jeff Langham was promoted from Assistant Superintendent, and his annual pay rose from $153,000 to $169,000.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Shanthia Washington was promoted from a Director position where she earned $135,000. Her salary is now $153,000.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tony Thacker was promoted from a Coordinator position where he earned $113,000. His salary rose to $153,000.

Sentance hired Dr. Jermall Wright at a starting salary of $169,000 to head a newly-created Office of School Improvement which will focus on turning around Alabama's chronically low-performing schools and systems. Wright has been integrally involved in the Montgomery schools intervention.

Sentance told AL.com he implemented a hiring freeze at the department immediately following Craig's recommendations and has not created any new positions since then.

Craig, whose annual salary is $191,000, told the board in August the department of education could be facing an $8 million budget deficit for the coming year and much of that expense is connected to personnel.

Hunter said budget problems have existed in the department since before Sentance became superintendent in September 2016.

AL.com has requested budget documents from previous years from the department but has not yet received them.

"It is misinformation to blame this on Mr. Sentance. That's just not accurate," Hunter said. "He inherited a problem that is at least six years old."

Board Vice President Stephanie Bell, R-Montgomery, has been vocal about her concerns, asking questions about those hires and defending a hiring freeze the board implemented in June for department hires related to the Montgomery County school district intervention.

In an email to AL.com about the projected deficit, Bell said, "The board's hiring freeze, which has not been lifted, was done as a direct response to information board members received regarding insufficient financial resources available to cover the number of new staff positions Mr. Sentance was approving at the state department and in the Montgomery Public Schools intervention."

Sentance took office in September 2016 and made three hires last November: former Madison City superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler as Chief of Staff at a salary of $206,000, former Tuscaloosa County teacher Chasidy White as Director of Strategic Initiatives at a salary of $113,000, and former Huntsville City deputy superintendent Dr. Barbara Cooper as Director of Teaching and Learning at a salary of $177,000.

Two Deputy Superintendents, Sherrill Parris and Dr. Melinda Maddox, with annual salaries of $191,000 and $169,000, respectively, retired in the months following Bice's March 2016 retirement.

Deputy Superintendent over Career and Technical Education Dr. Philip Cleveland retired in July where he earned $169,000. Director of the Office of Learning Support Linda Felton-Smith, whose salary was $135,000, retired in June.

After the Aug. 23 board work session, Craig told reporters he expected to bring the fiscal year 2018 department budget back to the board for a vote. Though the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, there is no mention of the 2018 department budget on either the meeting or work session agendas.

Board member Hunter isn't putting the blame for the projected deficit on Sentance. "I don't think he's ballooned the budget beyond what it was before," she said. "I just think the budget had grown before him, and it suddenly became his problem to fix."

An item labeled "Superintendent's Contract" is on the Sept. 14 meeting agenda. Gov. Kay Ivey, who serves as president of the board of education by virtue of her position, said previously she plans to attend the meeting.

Sentance officially began working as Alabama's superintendent on Sept. 9, 2016.